Taliban Urges Rejection Of U.S.-Afghan Security Deal
As a bilateral security agreement between the U.S. and Afghanistan begins an approval process, the Taliban's leader urged Afghans to reject the deal, calling it a colonial arrangement with elements of slavery.
The message came in an email on the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. In it, Mullah Mohammad Omar told Afghans to keep fighting, as NPR's Sean Carberry reports for our Newscast unit:
"In an email statement, Mullah Omar calls the draft security deal a colonial agreement and a document of slavery that will only prolong war in Afghanistan. He says that the Afghan people must continue to oppose the Afghan government and foreign powers.
"Omar again calls on the Afghan people to reject next year's presidential election, calling it a western exercise. President Karzai continues to push for reconciliation with the Taliban and claims that Afghanistan will not compromise human rights to entice them to negotiate.
"Yet, the Taliban statement calls for an Islamic Emirate where women wear the veil and the sexes don't mingle."